June 2012 - May 2013
FEATURE
Division Schools Press Conference 2012
First Place Winner for Feature Writing English - Elementary Surigao City Division
The CRUISER
15
Wet Pants? No regrets. by Justine Escobal
Nickel: A hidden treasure in Surigao by Justine Escobal
Beautiful. Full of natural resources. Attractive. This is how I, and probably other people describe my dear city, Surigao. We have trees, vast plains, and relaxing views of beaches; definitely the place where you’d go on vacation. But there’s more to that. Nickel, as we know, is a very important material in making different things and products. Guess what? Still, we got it here, in Nonoc Island. This place isn’t really that far, you could just see it straight from the city center when you sit on the dikes of the boulevard. Unknowingly, this island contains a large amount of nickel. No wonder why Surigao was called the Nickel City of the South, years ago.And not long ago, The Nickel City of The Philippines. Surigao City may be known for being “The City of Island Adventures” and “One of Surfing Capitals of the Philippines” but we just don’t know that Mother Earth had hidden a great treasure under the ground for us. A business was then established, and the company was called PhilNiCo. It had been very good. It helped smoothen rocky roads, fixed dilapidated buildings, and improved the economy of the city, through the tax of its funds. But then something bad happened. PhilNiCo’s operations stopped due to the protest of the workers of the company itself. They wanted a higher pay. Today, the machineries are rusty and will probably need a big truck of money to repair it all. See? You think only the trees and seas are the good things you can see in Surigao City? Nope. You’re wrong. A large amount of hidden treasures are present here. Back in the old glory days, we could really say, Surigao + Nickel = Jackpot, and besides, Surigao’s great enough to be called the Nickel City of the Philippines.
The Percy Jackson series... by Marion Maeghan Sanchez
(from page 14) My favorite part was in the last book “The Last Olympian” where Percy and the whole camp protected Olympus from Kronos who took over the body of the traitor Luke Castrellan. There were actually different kinds of scenes that made a lot of emotions come down to me. The series may sometimes be sad because of certain deaths but when I kept gripping on the books and turning all the pages, I found the ending perfectly fine. This wonderful series of books has
everything in it. Almost all book genres and feelings you may get when you read this book. It has a nice theme that fits a young and old reader to get and read each one of them. You also get that feeling where you need to finish every book no matter how long it can possibly take. I suggest you read the series whenever you have the time. It will not only satisfy your need for interesting stories, it will also make you learn about what is true friendship, loyalty, bravery and the importance of family.
It was a late afternoon when I came in a room. I saw someone familiar and in an awkward position. She was in front of the airconditioner, on top a table and obviously trying to dry her pants. “Hi! What are you doing there?” I broke the silence by starting the conversation with my friend. “Drying my pants.”, she answered with a smirk. “Why? Who did that? What happened? How?”, and now it was pretty obvious that I’m an ask-aholic. She told me that it was her fault she spilled the water from the mug she was holding. When I came to look at her face, she seemed like she wanted to tell me something, and then holding it back. I gave her a smile, then she finally opened up. It happened like this: She was holding two things. On her left, the notebook and book of a person she nicknamed “Mind”. On her right, she held a mug with water she had already drank halfway. She was called by someone unfamiliar, so she turned , leaving herself a small amount of time to think which to let go, and which thing to hold on to. And Bam! The water spilled on her pants, as she dropped the mug, causing it to break. I was thinking: she could’ve just let the books fall, knowing that they were not as fragile as the mug. Now, there’s something I got from this very odd happening. Remember that on her left hand, she held the books of “Mind” and as far as I know, this person helped my friend through many different circumstances by making her think twice about her everyday decisions in life, while as I know “Mug”, this person made my friend feel different, yet this person got too overfamiliarized with her that this person treated her to the extent that it got too far and that “bad words” were spoken and let out. She wasn’t expected to decide properly in a short period of time, and it can be clear that perhaps, God sent her a sign. Though letting go of something we value but has not offered us one thing would hurt, letting it go would only cause us pain once, then we can be free. Be it a situation where you dropped your last coin, God wants something to happen to you, perhaps it could be a sign that can help you get through your problems. That perhaps, all things depend upon God’s will.